Okay I am biased against club cha cha cha. normally I do not prefer club cha cha cha, simply because I feel that the music is not hot. Yes I need great cha cha music to dance to. I feel that most of the songs they play on the social (salsa) floor are boring.

But I think I am going to change my mind. I found this great cha cha dancing clip by Cristian Oviedo and Christina Haggerty. See yourself the energy and the heat.

Cristian Oviedo is current reigning 4 time world salsa champion. The beautiful Christina Haggerty teaches salsa in LA. I have personally watched Cristian and marveled at how amazing he was when I was in LA as well as at salsa congress. So no wonder that I like his cha cha cha.

I was in Santa Monica – a suburb of L.A. – and loved it. Many salsa night clubs I went to there were packed with hot salsa dancers. The dancing went on to 2:00 am (on a weekday). My best ever salsa club experience was in that area. So I can feel the heat of the club. The song in the video (Silencio) will be my favorite cha cha song.The above video clip is a almost vintage clip (from 2004). It was danced in L.A. in a club that no longer exists. When I watched the beautiful movements in the video, I had to ask myself a question. How would I feel if i saw a clip of my dancing from 9 years ago?To think about it, I wasn’t seriously into salsa in 2004. I have been hooked on salsa only in the last 3-4 years. But I think I am so lucky that I got seriously involved in it. And I love it.

I know I will be old……one day….but I will still remember The Days of Being Wild (This is a title of my favorite film as well). Although the story of the film has nothing to do with salsa……..I think the life that I have now almost fits the title……yes my days of being wild with …..fun and adventure ………my days of hot salsa (or bachata, or cha cha cha).

There is this cool song from 1982. “Down Under” sung by Men at Work. I’ve heard it so many times, and I love the song, but I never paid attention to its lyrics — until now.

“Do you come from a land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder?
Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover.”

In its original video, I noticed that they are doing some form of dancing – more or less you could call it Roo dancing – so I wasn’t expecting a thunder from down under – honestly. Until I found this gorgeous couple – Arkady Bakenov & Rosa Filippello

Yes they are from down under.

Arkady and Rosa are current reigning Australian Amateur champions. Their partnership started in 2006. Here is a brief description of their backgrounds. Before teaming up with Rosa, Arkady was a finalist in all major Australian events. Rosa was Australia’s champion at age 11 , and danced with popular “Dancing With Stars” U.S. dancer Derek Hugh in 2004 -2005.

Since they are from the Southern hemisphere, probably some people are not familiar with them. I happened to find them on Australian championship Youtube video.

Rumba starts at 4:06. So breathtakingly well articulated! This couple makes a series of difficult moves look so easy and so fluid.

So I decided to look for more of their dancing, and found some more !

The Youtube title is “Humphreys Xmas Party” — Thank God, they have done special performance at their dance studio !

The Rumba starts at 0:14. It shows a perfect technique in my opinion, accompanied by such extraordinary beautiful musicality.

Jive starts at 4:19

Let’s go on to the next video.

This is has Paso Doble, Samba, and Cha Cha.

So here is a quote by Rosa

“Never be afraid to try new things. Remember, Amateurs built the Ark, Professionals built the Titanic.”

The song “Down Under” is a great song. The lyrics are brilliant. But now it’s time to change one line there.

“Where women glow, and men plunder” must be changed to “Where women glow, and men glow also”

I say, “Ah Can’t you hear, can’t you hear the thunder?”

This couple is an exceptionally beautiful couple with such mastery of musicality. I really adore and love them and wish to see a whole lot more of their dancing. Folks, if you have their dancing videos, please upload !

Bonus Section:

If you haven’t watched this amazing rendition of JP’s version of this “Down Under”, here you go.

Talented Youth Couple: Paweł Tekiela & Agnieszka Kaczorowska (Poland). They started to dance together 12/2009. Their dancing is filled with energy and vibrancy. I like both of them. What I like about their dancing is that they make it so fun to watch. Of course their execution is great too.

Cha Cha : It is so much fun to watch their choreography. Very interesting.

I found a nice instructional samba video on Youtube. I read comments under the video.
It said, “I am Brazilian and this is not samba ! ”
Another said ,” You talk too much”

Fact:
1) — Many of the Brazilians do not like ballroom style samba —
2) — Many Brazilians think they own samba dance ———-

Myth:
1) — There is only one way of dancing samba —–
2) — Original style of dancing is superior to later developed variations of dance style ———
3) — A country where dance originates owns that particular dance —–

I watched Brazilian samba on Youtube, but after two minutes, I got bored. It’s the same thing over and over. I understand that in street dances, people (in general) have more fun. It’s rather easy to do the semi impromptu motions. To me, Brazilian samba looked like a free style fast disco dancing. You just make up steps, and shake, shake, shake it !

Perhaps there is more to learn about Brazilian samba I thought. I am not Brazilian – and I don’t know much about it except that I do samba (ballroom style). So I looked up a video that talks about samba by Brazilian samba expert.

Here is a video on Samba dance origin and Brazilian culture by Brazilian samba dance instructor.
Some important points from the video.

1) Brazilian samba is by nature theatrical. It’s origin is Carnival. So it is very much free style. —> Myth #1 busted.
2) Brazilian carnival’s root is in Europe — Greek mythology of Bacco where also the theater came from. —-> Myth #3 busted.
3) The essence of Brazilian samba is to use imagination (to freely express) and to have fun. ———> Myth # 2 busted.

Many “original” dances are composed of repetition of simple motions which are closer to, and are more, natural. But, in my opinion, it becomes boring soon.

Espen Salberg says, “Natural is boring”
This is so true, at least, in dancing. Interesting movements in dances are invented by people. They are not inherent body movements that are required for our survival.

So I must respectfully disagree with many Brazilian samba fans. As much as Brazilian samba makes it free style and is interesting, it’s great. Otherwise, if it’s going to be repetitions, I would like to pursue all kinds of variations in samba dances. Ballroom samba is a style that allows partner dancing, and is very interesting and also challenging. Indeed ballroom samba’s rhythm came from Brazilian samba, and ballroom samba has many moves that remind of Brazilian samba.

OK. I am not planning to visit Brazil anytime soon. But, if I am going to visit Brazil, I will find out where the above Brazilian samba instructor is at, and pay a visit. Even if I can’t dance Brazilian samba, it will be a great inspiration to watch her. Huh? You want to meet her, too? Sorry I can’t help you. I signed a non-disclosure agreement. But, definitely, give your shot if you are in Rio de Janeiro.

Out of the five International Latin dances, I think the hardest dance is samba. The technique requires coordination of many body parts, plus it is rather fast. (Yes jive is faster, but jive uses mostly springing action, and does not require as much coordination of many body parts as samba.)

So here are some tips for International Latin samba basic technique.

1) Bouncing action is the key for samba basic characterization. Bouncing action is created from bending and straightening of the knees (and compression of ankles) and also raising and lowering of the heel in between the whole counts. Explained by Slavik.

There are two pelvic positions to be taken clearly (by contracting and releasing abdominal-pelvic muscle). One for whole count(down) and another for “&” (up).

The count for pelvic action is — One & Two & —-
(same as bouncing action)

3) Feet movement in Samba: Bouncing Action occurs separately from Feet Movement and in two separate timings:
“&” (1/2): At half beat, the knee goes up or down, but foot does not move at the same time. (Foot moves on “a” which comes after “&”.) Heel is released. Start straightening the legs. Keep weight forward.
“a” (1/4): Move the leg, without weight (or with partial weight), both knees are straight.

Count for samba action including bouncing action and feet movement —- One & a Two & a Three & a Four & a ——.

4) Where Do You Use Bouncing Action?
In samba, some steps need very little bouncing action. But most of the basic steps need clear incorporation of this bouncing action, and precise timing. For example in Volta, feet does not move at “&” but at “a” and while keeping straightened (already at “and”) knee.
Book of technique indicates details of bouncing requirement. In general, a step that has a timing of “One & a Two ” (which indicates up position at “&” and feet movement at “a”) has bouncing action.

5) Actual stepping actions require initiation of movement by twisting of core area and hip (commonly called figure eight) which ends in, or accompanied by pelvic action. For example, if you try to do Volta action just by using bending and straightening of legs, it will look very rigid and requires a lot of exhaustive work. When you use twisting & compression of hip joint (figure eight) action to initiate leg action, it will create fluid and dynamic movement.

At 1:30 —- Figure Eight action in samba explained.

Creating figure eight: “Figure Eight” should not be about hip movement. Very common mistake is twisting hips without contraction and release of core muscles (abdominal, oblique, and back muscles). Figure eight is a result of contraction/release/twisting of core muscles and weight shift. Here is an exercise for developing Latin core muscle memory.

So you want to dance like a pro? This stuff is exactly what the pros have to master before they go putting together fancy routines. Go slowly though. You may twist your ab muscles if you go too fast.

OK. I gave up going to night clubs while ago for many reasons. Current top forty- hip hop or house music is just filled with garbage. Techno? Don’t make me laugh, please. I call it zombie music; Zombies will dance to techno music. Hip Hop? I can watch dance itself. But I can’t stand its musicality; I have been going to salsa clubs, or salsa parties, and it’s fun. But I miss the great non-stop dance beat, which, in my opinion, is non-existent in this music era.

Yeah, it’s insane. How come there isn’t a danceable, melodic, and beautiful song these days? Yes there are some very few. But 99% of it is GaGa out there, not to speak of the musical talent. (If you didn’t know, “GaGa” means Garbage Grade A)

So it’s about time that I put together a great retro dance party music list. Instead of moaning about not being able to find clubs that play my kind of music, or instead of relying on DJs (who think current techno or hip hop is so cool) at night clubs or some retro radio stations that still can’t match my taste of music, I prefer desktop hooked up to my amplifier and loud speaker so that I can blast the music off. Now I am in charge.

The following is the all-time hot 10 top dance music videos chosen by me. Everyone’s taste is his or her personal choice: So this is going to be strictly my kind of dance music.

Wait a minute. First, a feature presentation before the list: Documentary Film on The Death of Pop Music

Actually, this is a music video from decades ago — but now time has arrived that it’s apocalyptic message feels so true and so real, I call it documentary of current popular music scene.

Blondie’s Apocalyptic Music Video from 1980.

I guess my list comprises of songs up until 2001 —- that’s about when the good dance party music died in pop/rock music genre in my opinion. Of course there are some good ones that came out after 2001, but it’s like sorting through garbage dump trying to find a diamond. I live in a time of post Night-of-the-Living-Dead era as far as pop music is concerned. The pop music scene is dominated by the living dead(bad music) who keeps killing good music and turning it into one of them(zombies). My strategy of survival is to barricade myself in a house and prevent the zombies from entering my house, and wait for rescue to arrive —-

The rescue may never arrive, but I am not giving up my hope. And in the meantime, I am realizing how apocalyptic Blondie’s song “Atomic” was.

In my interpretation, Deborah Harry wearing garbage bag is current myself — surrounded by the post-nuclear disaster garbage, I am wearing just garbage bag which is all I have. But I am clinging to what I have tonight, however transient it is, and despite the fact that what I have might be gone tomorrow, and rescue may never arrive, I have tonight. And I am not giving up the hope. Make me tonight.

OK the list starts here.

#1. Blondie, 1979 —–> Hustle

About Blondie: Against the common saying, “Gentle people prefer blondes.”, my favorite female movie stars seem to be brunettes. What can I say? Personal preference. But with Deborah Harry, I must admit that this gorgeous blonde is my pick #1 for all time best female singer, and the song. By far the sexiest, and certainly one of the most talented singers, she deserves this ranking two hands down. I found this comment in the Youtube comment section where this video is featured.

Commentator: “Lady Gaga is like Marilyn Manson. Talentless and﻿ stupid, they use scary and ogworth looks to draw attention and get famous while talent artists like Blondie are soon to be forgotten.” ( excerpt from comment section of this music video)

Me: “Sorry Mr. Commentator on Youtube, you are dead wrong. Lady gaga will be forgotten, but Blondie will be remembered forever.”

Deborah Harry, I am your fan forever and ever !!!

About Heart of Glass: Dance club (night club) era was actually begun with the disco era in America. The essence of disco music is non-stop beats —signifying the everlasting joy —-produced by repetitive disco beat along with interesting melody (compared to monotonous and boring trance beats). The song, “Heart of Glass”(1980) embodies this dance spirit with the (then) new style of music(new wave), that is “punk rock”. Now, after 30 years, disco is gone, but punk rock is still very much alive and well. So this song was a perfect embodiment of “perpetual dance mood” of disco music and “new style” of music. Plus the beauty of Debora Harry, and the excellent musicality of the band. What more is there to be desired after this?

#2. Blondie, 1980

The mega hit song from 1980. No need to repeat what I said about Blondie.

“This song was the title theme of the soundtrack for the film American Gigolo. Released in February 1980, ‘Call Me’ spent six weeks at #1 in the U.S. and Canada, reached #1 in the U.K. and became a hit throughout the world.” (from Wikipedia)

Devoid of disco influence, and along with the bouncy, hard hitting new wave style of beats (synthesizer), Deborah Harry’s voice is so heavenly here, and I will never get tired of listening to her voice.

#3. Jennifer Lopez, 2001 ———> Samba

Jennifer looks so beautiful here and impeccable, and then the half-naked hunk shows up (where have you seen a gorgeous couple like this dancing together?). Wow, the producer and director of this video, and the director of photography should all be awarded All Time Best Music Video Academy Award. Non-stop samba-like dance beat, well choreographed and well characterized dancing, and the beautifully executed Flamenco steps, all make it so enjoyable to watch, and just makes me want to keep dancing to this song. I say this is by far the best produced music video i have seen.

#4. Blondie, 1980

This song includes a rap section by Blondie – the song is known as the song with rap that has achieved mainstream success for the first time. Definite disco beat here. Not so much punk rock feel here. The man in white coat dances very interesting dance move. Blondie is obviously having fun in the video. It’s just so interesting and I feel I am dancing among these strange characters in another world.

#5. Shaft, 1999 ———> Cha Cha

The video production and the dancers here are just top notch. Ordinarily the original version of a song is the best. But this one is an exception. You just can’t stop giggling especially when the dance troop invades a nightclub, kicks off the DJ, and turn it into a hot latin dance scene. Great rhythm and fun video, this will make anyone wants to cha cha or do whatever they can. This song “Sway” is an English version of ” ‘¿Quién será?’, a 1953 mambo song by Mexican composer and bandleader Pablo Beltrán Ruiz.” (From Sway, Wikipeadia)

#6. Boney M, 1978 —–> Frantic Disco Party

This song is the ultimate representation of non-stop, heart-throbbing rhythm of party music. Although out of the peak years of disco music era, it combines disco rhythm and the strong Euro base beat and leads listeners to an exhilarating party high toward the end. The chanting, the dance, and the heat ———. Definitely “Euro”, this is a dance music classic, and announcing the beginning of the “Euro” that is still ongoing in Europe.

#7. Eruption, 1978 —-> Cha Cha

How can anyone not dance after hearing this sexy and still powerful voice of Precious Wilson and the hauntingly delicious refrain “one way ticket , one way ticket to the blue” by the chorus? I just wish contemporary singers will learn true “sensuality” from this amazingly sexy and still classy Precious Wilson. Or can someone acquire such a thing?

#8. Mungo Jerry, 1970 ——-> Samba

Here is a my moaning about many pop chart topping songs of today. A lot of them just do not have the fun element. They are gagaing about something that is repeat of another repeat, without any originality. The signing talent is usually not there, either. Therefore, they use shock and awe technique to attract people’s attention whether it is female nudity, sex, grotesqueness, or violence. Why would I consume music videos that leave bitter after taste? The more I think about popular singers who make dance music videos which lack originality, the more I think highly of “Mungo Jerry”.

Mungo Jerry – they looked like bunch of laggards. These guys’ song was about possibly picking up hot women during hot summer time. But they were original. Their song “In the Summer Time” is a totally hilarious and funny song – and it tells a story. Plus their singing is top-notch. I must envy those guys. They are totally having fun.

9. Rosemary Clooney, 1954 ——> Mambo

As old as the song is, I love this song —- there are many versions of this song for cha cha also. But this original version is just so classy and theatrical. And so much fun.

10. Artist Formerly Known As ——, 1986 ——-> Cha Cha

Many artists from the 80’s have good dance videos. But I just can’t list all of them (unless I do top 20 music videos another time). So here is Prince. Talented and extremely popular artist of the decade, I don’t need to add explanation for his music. Particularly memorable verse here.

” —— Women not girls rule my world.”

Ok, I got it, Prince.

I have in total 11 songs. It turns out 8 of the above 11 songs can be played at ballroom dances. Not bad for an amateur ballroom party DJ. Let’s party on !!!!!!!!!

I like to explore different versions of songs. It’s interesting, and I learn something new in the process. If you are a ballroom dancer, you are probably familiar with the waltz song “Fascination”. There are many versions that are played on ballroom floors – including Nat King Cole’s. But did you know that the first U.S. singer who made this song popular was not Nat King Cole? Moreover, did you know that the song originates from France, and the song did not have lyric when it was first written(that is, it was instrumental music) and that the current popular lyric has no relation to its original French lyric? Keep on reading to find out more.

First let me introduce you to a wonderful acoustic guitar rendition of the Fascination(Fascinação)

( The above guitar version is based on the arrangement of Dilermando Reis of the original song as written by F.D. Marchetti. Played by this amazing Italian guitarist, Modesto De Renziowho has a website here. You can go here to listen to more of his wonderful guitar plays.)

There’s a whole lot more interesting and fascinating history to the song.

Composer:

Originally written in 1904 by Italian F. D. Marchetti(1876-1940). He was born in Massa, Italy, and later moved to Paris, France where he composed the song.), the instrumental song’s title was “Valse Tzigane”, which means “Gypsy Waltz” in French. The song was initially written for instruments only, and later(1905?) the French words written by Maurice de Féraudy (1859-1932) was adopted (The title Fascination seems to have been given at this time). It’s hard to find the original instrumental recordings on internet.

French Version Sung by Florelle

The song became popular in France and probably in other parts of the world as well. Some of the earlier versions used in American films from 1930 through 1949 are listed in F.D. Marchetti imdb database. I found a 1931 recording by Florelle, French singer and actor.

Florelle’s birth name was Odette-Elisa Josephine Margaret Rousseau (also known as Odette Rousseau). Her biography appears here (in French Wikipedia) and here (translation into English here). There is another bio from chanson.udenap.org. Its translation into English is here.

Interesting facts about Florelle ( Odette Rousseau): born August 9, 1898 in Les Sables d’Olonne (Vendée) and died September 28, 1974 in La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée).

She started to sing at the age of 13.

In 1923 she toured with Maurice Chevalier, who later (in 1957) appeared in film “Love in the Afternoon”(or “Ariane” for European release). She continued her singing career in the 1920s, appearing in Moulin Rouge (Cabaret in Paris, not film).

The original french lyrics of Florelle’s Fascination and its English translations are here. Her song is a great representation of French song, and it indeed sounds so good. Please listen to it here (This link requires that you enable an mp3 player on your computer; if you cannot play this, you do not have an mp3 player on your computer. If the link does not work properly, you can search for the file called florelle_fascination_1932.mp3 on Google.) Her version is rather dramatic, reflecting the atmosphere of Moulin Rouge.

I assume that instrumental version must have been around during this period(1920’s and 1930’s) to entertain social dancers. Although I cannot find 1920’s- or 1930’s- “Fascination” waltz, I will illustrate the style of waltz that was popular in dances during this period in the below (where the instrumental versions would have been played – Florrelle’s version seems to fit more stage performance).

(The above is not the original recording, but Carlos Galhardo himself is singing his version in this clip.)

The Portugese lyric can be found here (and its English translation here). Many later Brazilian singers sang this song. This song is especially popular in Brazil.

English version

English lyrics were added by Dick Manning in 1932. This English version had a totally different lyric from the original French version (meaning it was not a translation of French lyric). It’s not clear if this English version was even recorded or not before 1957. In 1957, however, the song was used in the film “Love in the Afternoon”, followed by single albums by numerous artists, and became a hit song.

Interesting facts about Dick manning: Dick manning was originally born in Russia with a name, Samuel Medoff. His family immigrated to U.S when he was 6 years old.

1957 Spring, at the age of 22, Nana Mouskouri records her first song ever in her career in Greek and in English. The song was “Fascination”. This was before the film “Love in the Afternoon” was released. But she remains still unknown artist until 1959 when she wins the Greek Song Festival 1st prize. Below is the Greek version sung by Nana Mouskouri.

Released June 30, 1957, the film “Love in the Afternoon” (1957, Directed by Billy Wilder, starring Gary Cooper, Maurice Chevalier, and Audrey Hepburn) does not do well commercially in U.S., but becomes a hit in Europe where it was distributed under the name “Ariane(1957)”. In this film, rather unknown music group, “The Troubadours”, plays the song “Fascination”. This film was an English remake of the film “Ariane(1931, released in Germany)” made by director Paul Czinner.

(Song by Lisa Ono was dubbed in the above film clips; the mix video shows the last part of the film starting at 3;13. Notice that the Troubadours plays the song at 4:27 in the video clip.)

August 8, 1957 Nat King Cole records the song “Fascination” at Capitol Record (but this version does not become the most popular version in 1957). I believe the readers are much familiar with this version.

David Kapp of Kapp Records brought “The Troubadours” to the studio, and asked Jane Morgan(who had already recorded at Kapp Records previously) to sing with The Troubadours. This song reached billboard #7 in September 9, 1957, and it became an instant sensation, remaining on the best selling charts for 29 weeks and selling millions of records. (Jane Morgan previously sang in Paris, France and had a great sense of French mood (!). This version reflects the French mood very nicely). Jane Morgan and the Troubadours’ version becomes the most popular version of the many competing versions during 1957.

Here below is the above record playing (KAPP 191). Occasionally one may hear this version being played in a ballroom dance. (This is special !)

Below is the Jane Morgan and the Troubadours’ version of “Fascination” with film clips from “Love In The Afternoon” for the fans of Gary Cooper and Audrey Hepburn.The song was also released in an album the same year.

(Album cover, Fascination, Label: KAPP 1068)

Music Scenes of 1957

Dinah Shore (1957), Dick Jacobs (1957) and David Carroll(1957) followed with the same song that year. They all reached billboard chart —— Dinah Shore (#15), Dick Jacobs (#17) and David Carroll (#56). You may wonder how there could be so many singers doing the same song. This was a quite common practice back then that many singers release different versions of a song, and compete against each other.

I want to add that, in the year 1957, the music chart of the 1957lists such heavy hitters as Elvis Presley, Everly Brothers, Paul Anka, Perry Como, Pat Boone, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis. Well, the music scene wasn’t all that quiet(?), and the Rock’n Roll song was mixing with pop songs.

The film Jailhouse Rock was released November 8 in1957. Here Elvis sings his famous Jailhouse Rock.

Fascination After 1957

Many other artists all over the world recorded this song since then. I am sorry I could not list all of them here. Some later versions are mentioned in Wikipedia article of Fascination (1932 song). I will list a few interesting versions in the below.

A lovely voice of Connie Francis here.

” José Augusto” – (1976) Fascination (Portuguese) Brazilian singer: I think one can dance a rumba to this version.

Lisa Ono — She is a modern bossa nova singer born in Brazil, and is active in Japan — has a wonderful rendition — bossa nova style. Her singing was dubbed to original film clips in the above. But remember this is a more recent rendition.

I must add ballroom dancing illustration to this precious song, although the readers are very familiar with how to do it themselves. So here is a Viennese Waltz version, “Vals Facinacion”, danced by young Peruvian dancers.

What have I learned? As waltz dance came from Europe, one of the most popular American waltz song’s origin is in Europe. I am so thankful to those – a lot of people (truly of international and multi-country) contributed to the existence of this song.

So which version is your favorite?

I would like to dance to all the (danceable) versions one day. But I also do love just listening to those wonderful (not-so-danceable but beautiful) renditions.

I think the following version is a great play on the ballroom dance floor.